Russia has banned most Canadian senators from entering the country, in its latest volley of counter sanctions.
According to a statement posted on the Russian foreign ministry's website, 86 of the current 90 senators are now on the “stop list” or “black list” of foreigners that will be denied entry to the Russian Federation. Russia also added one former member of the upper chamber, Sen. Diane Griffin, to the list, totaling 87. Of the four current senators not on Russia’s latest list, one of them, Sen. Percy Downe, acknowledged he’d already been banned.
“Welcome Fellow Senators. Have been on this list/barred from Russia since 2017 when I supported the passing of the #MagnitskyAct. I think my speech ‘that the current Russian government was a criminal organization masquerading as a government’ was the tipping point,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
Sen. Tony Dean was also absent from the list, he told CTV News that he'd be "writing to complain immediately."
The embassy’s statement indicates sanctioning the vast majority of the Senate’s representatives is being done “on the basis of reciprocity,” over Canada’s “hostile” Russian sanctions.
The Canadian government has been imposing sanctions on an ongoing basis on a wide list of top Russian government and military officials as well as on wealthy and influential oligarchs in an effort to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his attacks on Ukraine.
In March, Russia sanctioned hundreds of MPs and other Canadians including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Defence Minister Anita Anand, in retaliation for supporting Ukraine.
Russia is warning that further counter-sanctions “are planned,” including expanding its “stop list.”
